COMPETE USA BASIC SKILLS IN HOUSE SPRINGTIME COMPETITION ...
Breaking Competition Rules - Team USA
Transcript of Breaking Competition Rules - Team USA
Breaking Competition Rules
In effect for 2014 National Championships
USA Taekwondo
One Olympic Plaza, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80909
Telephone: (719) 866-4632 Fax: (719) 866-4642
www.usa-taekwondo.us
Breaking Competition Rules
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Creative Breaking ................................................................................................. 1
2. Power Breaking .................................................................................................... 6
3. Appendix I: Scoring Sheets .................................................................................. 9
USAT Breaking Competition Rules Page 1
Creative Breaking Competition
In Creative Breaking competition, competitors use powerful, correctly executed
Taekwondo hand and foot techniques to break pine boards. Competitors are expected to
display technical skill and proper Taekwondo manner, as well as showmanship and
creativity.
1. General Creative Breaking Competition Guidelines
1. Competitors may choose the kind of techniques and number of boards to break,
up to a maximum of 30 boards. Any Taekwondo striking or kicking technique
may be used, with the exception of head strikes.
2. Competitors must provide their own board holders. (Please note that board
holder credentials are not a pass into the event; person receiving this credential
will need to pick it up in the designated holding area and return it to the holding
area after competition.
3. Competitors and helpers will have three minutes to set up, perform the breaking
routine and clean up all boards, broken boards and wood fragments. Exceeding
the time limit will result in 0.5 point deduction in the final score for each 10
seconds, or fraction thereof, over the time. (Example: 12 seconds over = 1.0
deduction.) If computer scoring is not used, a timer will be provided for each
ring.
4. With the exception of pre-approved mechanical board holders, no props such as
chairs, trampolines, tables, etc. may be used. (Holders may be used as “human
launch pads” for jumping techniques.)
5. There is a maximum of two attempts for each break. Failure to break all of the
boards in a single attempt will result in 0.1 deduction for each missed board.
Failure to complete the break after two attempts will result in a 0.5 point
deduction in the final score, in addition to the penalties for missed boards. A
“Broken Board” is defined as one that is a) completely separated; or b) held
together only by wood strands, such that if one side is held horizontal, the other
side naturally drops perpendicular to the floor.
6. The performance must be confined to the 8m x 8m competition area. A
competitor who crosses the boundary line will receive a 0.5 point deduction for
each violation.
7. Competitors may perform as many breaking techniques as they wish, as long as
they do not exceed the three minute time limit.
8. Boards must be purchased from USAT or a USAT-designated vendor at the
competition venue. Board security procedures for each event will be published
by USAT on or before the first day of registration. Under no circumstance will
competitors provide their own boards.
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9. Standard board sizes:
• 6-9 years: 12 inches by 8 inches and 3/8 inches thick (1/2 inch nominal)
• 10-17 years: 12 inches by 10 inches and 1/2 inches thick (5/8 inch nominal)
• 18+ years: 12 inches by 10 inches and 3/4 inch thick (1 inch nominal)
10. No spacers may be used, including fingers. Holders may not attempt to “help”
the competitor by bending, moving, or pushing the boards; any attempt to do will
results in a 0.5 point deduction for each instance. Any attempt to physically alter
the boards will result in disqualification of the competitor.
11. No bricks, cinder blocks, tiles or any materials other than approved boards and
approved mechanical holders may be brought into the Contest Area. Any
mechanical holders used must be approved by the USAT Organizing Committee
or a designated official prior to competing.
12. Competitors are expected to display self-control and good competition manner.
A display of poor sportsmanship (profanity, etc.) may be penalized by either 0.1
or 0.5, depending upon severity.
2. Scoring Guidelines for Creative Breaking Competition
Judging will be based on three criteria:
a. Difficulty (30%)
b. Number of boards broken (30%)
c. Demonstration of Taekwondo skill & Presentation (40%)
If a competitor fails to break any boards at all, the total score for Difficulty of Techniques
and Number of Boards Broken is “0.” The competitor still receives a score for
Presentation.
2.0. Difficulty
Difficulty is individually assessed by each judge on a scale of 1.0 to 3.0, based on
the judge’s consideration of the difficulty of the overall performance. Here are
guidelines for assessing difficulty:
2.0.1. Difficulty of Kicking Techniques will be assessed on the following order
of superiority:
a. Standing kick technique
b. Kicking technique with turning motion
c. Jumping or flying kick technique
d. Jumping or flying kick with turning motion (the greater the number of
rotations, the higher the assessed difficulty)
e. Multiple breaking using jumping or flying kick
f. Multiple breaking spinning jumping or flying kick
2.0.2 Difficulty of Hand Techniques be assessed on the following order of
superiority:
USAT Breaking Competition Rules Page 3
a. Basic skills such as straight or reverse punch, palm heel strike and
hammer fist
b. More technical skills such as knife hand strike, ridge hand strike and
back fist
c. Advanced skills such as spear finger strike, long punch, chicken beak
strike, etc.
2.0.3. Suspended holding (“i.e., “speed breaking”) is considered more difficult
than fixed holding.
2.0.4. The number of boards broken in a single technique should also be
factored into assessment of difficulty. For example, breaking a single board
with a punch would be low difficulty; breaking three boards with that same
technique would be moderate difficulty; breaking five boards with the same
technique would be considered high difficulty.
2.1. Number of boards is defined as the total number of boards attempted in the
overall performance. (Note that the number of boards broken using each individual
technique is also factored into the overall assessment of difficulty; see Section
2.0.4, above.)
Boards replaced for a second attempt—for example, in a double kick where only
one board is broken—do not count toward the overall total. In addition to the 0.5
point penalty for failing to complete the break after two attempts, there is a 0.1
point penalty for each board not broken during each attempt. Example: A
competitor attempts to break two boards, but only breaks one on the first try, and
only one on the second try; in this case the total deduction would be 0.1 (missed
board) + 0.1 (missed board) + 0.5 (failure to complete the break) = 0.7.
Before the competition, each competitor must accurately communicate to the Ring
Coordinator the number of boards to be attempted, and the Ring Coordinator will
pass this information along to the judges as each break is being set up. The judges
will note how many boards are actually broken during the performance.
2.2. Demonstration of Taekwondo skill will be based on Accuracy, Speed and
Presentation.
2.2.1 Accuracy: Breaking on the first attempt is superior to breaking on the
second attempt, and breaking at the center of the board is superior to
breaking off-center.
2.2.2. Speed: Rapid, smooth, continuous motion is superior to taking extra time
between breaks.
2.2.3. Presentation: In addition to displaying correct Taekwondo technique, this
includes confidence, balance, rhythm, smoothness of performance and
good competition manner from entrance into the Contest Area through the
completion of the performance.
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3. Declaration of Penalties
One deduction penalty is equal to 0.5 point. Deduction penalties will be declared by the
referee after the performance is completed by stating the number of deductions, and what
they are for. (Example: “Two deductions for exceeding performance time by 16
seconds”; “Two deductions for going out of the Contest Area.”
The recorder/timekeeper will keep track of time, and will advise the referee if a
competitor exceeds the allowed three minutes for setup, performance and cleanup.
4. Publication of scoring
4.1. The final score shall be announced immediately after totaling the judges’ scores.
4.1.2. When using electronic scoring instruments, Judges shall input points in the
electronic scoring instruments after the breaking performance and total
points shall be automatically displayed on the monitors.
4.1.3. When using manual scoring, the coordinator shall collect each scoring sheet
and convey the results to the recorder immediately after completion of the
breaking. The recorder shall report the score to the Referee and have the
final score displayed or announced.
5. Decision and Declaration of Winner
The winner shall be the contestant who is awarded the highest mean score (calculated to
four decimal points.)
When using the five judge system, the highest and lowest scores will be dropped from the
final total then a mean score calculated by dividing by 3.0000. With the three judge
system, all scores will be used then a mean score calculated by dividing by 3.0000.
In case of a tie, the winner will be selected based on the combined Performance score.
If still tied:
a. Five judge system—The highest and lowest scores will be added back in, and then a
mean score calculated by dividing by 5.0000 to select the winner.
b. Three-judge system—The competitor with fewer Technical Deductions will be the
winner.
c. If the competitors remained tied after these steps, multiple medals will be awarded.
USAT Breaking Competition Rules Page 5
Page 6 USAT Competition Rules
Power Breaking Competition
In Power Breaking competition, competitors use powerful, correctly executed
Taekwondo hand or elbow techniques to break multiple pine boards. The competitor who
breaks to most boards in a single attempt is the winner.
Age divisions for Power Breaking competition are as follows. Note that there are no
Dragon, Ninja, Youth or Cadet divisions for this event.
Division 17 and
Under 29 and
Under 39 and
Under 49 and
Under 59 and
Under Over 59
Age (Years) 15-17 18-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+
1. General Power Breaking Competition Guidelines
1. Competitors may use any kind of hand or elbow techniques. Head strikes are not
permitted.
2. Competitors may choose how many boards they will attempt to break.
3. Boards will be set up on a solid base. Mechanical holding jigs—either custom-
made or purchased commercially—may be used. Cinder blocks are not
permitted, and may not be brought into the Contest Area. Any mechanical
holders used must be approved for safety by the USAT Organizing Committee or
a designated official prior to the competition.
4. Competitors and helpers will have three minutes to set up, perform the break and
remove all holders, broken boards and wood fragments. Exceeding the time will
result in 0.5 point deduction in the final score.
5. With the exception of approved mechanical board holders, no props such as
chairs, trampolines, tables, etc. may be used.
6. Each competitor is allowed only one attempt to complete their break.
7. Scores will be based on the total number of boards broken in the single attempt.
Boards must be completely broken in order to be counted in the score.
8. Boards must be purchased from USAT or a USAT-designated vendor at the
competition venue. Board security procedures for each event will be published
by USAT on or before the first day of registration. Under no circumstance will
competitors provide their own boards.
9. Standard board size: 12 inches by 10 inches and 3/4 inch thick (1 inch nominal)
Juniors (15-17 years old) may use spacers; spacers must be no more than 1/4
inch high.
10. Any attempt to alter the boards will result in disqualification of the competitor.
USAT Breaking Competition Rules Page 7
2. Scoring Procedure for Power Breaking Competition
2.1. The competitor will communicate the number of boards to be attempted, and the
number will be verified by the referee. The referee will announce the number of
boards successfully broken.
2.2. The Scorekeeper will record the number of boards attempted, and the number of
boards successfully broken.
2.3. In the event of a tie, the competitor who attempted to break the greatest number
of boards will be declared the winner.
If there is still a tie (i.e., two or more competitors with the same number of
boards), the competitor with the highest presentation score will be declared the
winner.
In the event there is still a tie, multiple medals will be awarded.
Power Breaking Score Sheet
Competitor #: Ring Number: Gender (circle): Male Female
Age (circle): 17 & Under 29 & Under 39 & Under 49 & Under 59 & Under Over 59
Judge’s Name: Signature: Judge Number:
Number of Boards Attempted
Number of Boards Successfully Broken
0.5 Penalty Deductions: Taking too much time, leaving the Contest Area, extreme poor sportsmanship, etc. (Use Ο for each deduction)
Deductions
Total Score
Presentation (Only to be used as tie-breaker if Percentage is tied)
Use of Correct Taekwondo Technique 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5
Style/Attitude/Expression of Energy & Confidence 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5
Total Presentation
Page 8 USAT Competition Rules
—NOTES—
USAT Breaking Competition Rules Page 1
Page 2 USAT Competition Rules
Po
we
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reak
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Sco
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or
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Nu
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Age
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29
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